Hope
by Kiaraz
Summary: Heartbroken, Shuurei leaves Kiyou after falling pregnant with Ryuuki's child, but she never got the chance to tell him. 8 years later a young boy barges into the palace in a fit, yelling at the emperor and claiming to be his son. Ryuu/Shuu
1. Prologue

**Hey.**

**This is the first Saiunkoku Monogatari fic I've wrote but I hope you all like it anyway. It's a bit deep and I'm not the greatest writer in the world but I hope you'll enjoy it.**

**Sadly I don't own Saiunkoku Monogatari but luckily I don't because if I did I would have shipped everybody ages ago and there would be no story to tell.**

**~ENJOY**

* * *

Three Times. Over the past four months I've talked to Ryuuki three times.

We're supposed to be lovers. Why, then? Why can't he spare even a minute to say hello? Why can't he spare even a second to look at me? He said he loved me. I loved him too.

Two months ago I confessed I loved him.

Two months ago I spent the greatest night of my entire life with him.

And two months ago...I fell pregnant.

I've tried countless times to tell him but it was always the same. I'd knock on his door, then open the door a crack and look inside. There was always someone inside there than Ryuuki, be it General Ran or some official I don't know. He'd sit there at his desk, the air of an emperor around him, the stale air that welcomed everybody but accepted no one. I'd introduce myself and state that I had something important to talk to the emperor about. It was at this point that I'd be ushered out.

Too busy to relax. Too busy to love.

It pained me to look at him; to look at those eyes I'd never gaze into again, to look at those lips I'd never kiss again, to look at those arms that would never embrace me again.

So long as he was emperor.

So long as his main priority was to support the country.

I have no right to say that he should put love first; I understand how important it is to be the emperor, the country first, then love; that's how it is.

He says he loves me. Bullshit. If he loved me he would've tried.

I said I loved him.

I tried.

The last time I saw him was two weeks ago, at the cherry blossom trees where we first met. I saw him there, I was overcome by hope; hope that maybe, maybe he still loved me. I ran to him, I ran like my life depended on it, like any second he'd disappear into thin air taking his love for me with him.

When I reached him he was still staring at the tree in front of him, like he didn't realize I was there. I tried to speak but my voice came out in a whimper. He finally looked at me! Those amber eyes that I longed to look into were finally watching me again. I was so joyful I couldn't help but smile. He smiled too, but a pained smile that made mine drop.

Behind him I could see four officials running towards us.

Running to take him away again.

I didn't realize it but I had collapsed on the ground, I tried to reach out to Ryuuki, to be held by him again before I lost him. I needed to tell him before he was taken away again. I needed to tell him I was carrying his child. The closer they came, the more I felt my throat clench up, the more I felt it harder to breath, the more I felt my world caving in on me.

I tried to scream. Thinking maybe, maybe if I was loud enough he wouldn't leave me. I tried to scream. I tried, like I tried everything else. But my voice was choked with tears and nothing came out.

I couldn't help but cry. I cried year s worth of tears that I had held back all that time. The only sound that was heard was the sound of me crying and the harsh wind that seemed to whisk Ryuuki away but kept me bolted to the ground.

I looked up at Ryuuki through tear glazed eyes. Everything was blurred through the river of tears I was crying, but I saw Ryuuki clearly.

He was looking at me, his expression pained and worried, he tried to reach for me. Tried, I almost scoffed. The one time he finally tries and it's too late. The officials had reached us and were pulling Ryuuki away from me. To me I was just another girl who had fallen in love with the Emperor and was distracting him from his work.

Just another girl.

Just another girl who loved him.

Just a girl who he loved.

Just a girl who was carrying his child.

Could they_ really_ say that I was just another girl?

It was then that I realized it was pointless. That I realized I couldn't raise a child with an unreliable father like him, a father who was too busy with work to spare a glance at his family.

I wiped away my tears and tried to smile, I'm sure I looked pathetic then but isn't that what I am? I clung onto the last strand of hope that maybe he would love me again.

"Goodbye." I whispered.

It took all my might to say that one word. A small word it might be but it carried so much feeling. It marked the end of my ties to him. It marked that one strand of hope broken.

Hope is hard to destroy though. I placed all my hope in that one word; hope that he'd understand, hope that he'd look back at me, hope that he'd break out of the official's grip and run back to me.

He didn't.

The second that word left my mouth and nothing happened, I realized it was over.

I loved him.

I always will.

So I ran away. Uncharacteristic of me I know, but that's what love does to you. My entire life was changed by that man.

I thought I'd never fall in love, never have children.

But here I was, sitting in a small horse drawn carriage after just having my heart broken and carrying the child of the man I'd always love.

The man who said he loved me back.

The man who didn't try.

I decided I'd pour whatever was left of my love into my child. My child was connected to Ryuuki and through my child I believed my feelings would reach him.

I'm glad I have Seiran with me; my entire trust is placed in him. We're heading to Kou province where I hope to start a new life with my child. My father is staying in Kiyou; I don't want my decisions to hurt him. I told him I was going and he understood. I was going to start a new life with my child and Seiran; that was what I planned. My child would need a father and Seiran would take that role but I'd never love him, I couldn't, my love for Ryuuki was too strong.

I still love him.

* * *

That was eight years ago and I still love him. It pains me to think about him so I try not to but lately Kibou has begun to look more like his father.

Kibou is the child of Ryuuki and me. Seiran was the one who named him, Kibou meaning hope. I think it's a wonderful name and full of meaning. Hope really is hard to destroy. Like his name I believe Kibou will grow up to be a strong man who won't get easily hurt.

_Hopeful._

I'm still hopeful that Ryuuki loves me but it's been eight years since he's seen me. When we moved to Kou province we were invited into a side branch of the clan, I was the daughter of the oldest son, the daughter who gave birth before she was married, dishonourable but still family. My uncle, my father's youngest son was kind enough to invite me to the main house but many people objected.

A few years ago Ryuuki visited Kou province, when I heard he was here I tried to stay away as long as possible but I accidentally caught a glance of him as he visited the Kou main house. I stayed in my chamber for three days after, before being coaxed out by Kibou. Seiran said Ryuuki might have saw Kibou and him once but since nothing had happened after that we assumed it was nothing.

Kibou is seven years old now and everyday he looks more and more like Ryuuki. Whilst he has my black hair he has Ryuuki's eyes and looks just like him. I've showered him with love over the years which might be a bad thing but I can't help but love him. He's always glued to my side and although he's kind and sweet to Seiran and me but he's cold to anyone else.

It feels like we are a family and at first sight you would believe we were one. A few of the women here who are my friends have realized Seiran is not Kibou's real father but I've never told them who is.

I just hope Kibou never finds out he's the emperor's son.

A prince.

But this isn't the real story. This is just a prologue, a beginning you may say to the real story.

The story that starts when Kibou finds out about the truth that he's Ryuuki's son. The story that starts when he sets off for Kiyou and the story that starts on that fateful day when he barged into the court room in a fit, yelling at the emperor and claiming to be his son.

* * *

**Well how do you like the sound of this so far? I know I'm a horrible writer but please remember that I only just turned 14.**

**I'd like to know what you think of the back story and Kibou. I plan to make this story a bit lighter than it is now.**

**Remember the review button is your friend.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back. Thank you for continuing reading this to the second chapter, it means a lot.**

**This chapter is centred on Kibou, but that's fine because I really like Kibou and if he was 7 years older and real I would totally stalk him. You'll learn more about his personality here. This chapter is WAY too wordy.**

**Disclaimer: Saiunkoku Monogatari isn't mine.**

**~ENJOY**

* * *

Kibou never was the sociable type. He'd rather stay at home and help his mother than go play with the village kids. He did have some friends though, they just weren't as close as his mother hoped; she was always encouraging him to make more friends and being the mother's boy he was, he couldn't refuse her and would try to make her proud. Despite his best efforts he just couldn't get rid of his cold persona to those around him.

Since Kibou spent most of his time at home, eavesdropping became a hobby for him. Somehow he always stayed as quiet as a mouse and no one knew he was there until he purposely made his presence noticeable; it might have something to do with the assassin blood in him. He learnt a lot of things from eavesdropping, once he even learnt all the answers to a test from eavesdropping on his teacher and he managed to make a quick sum of cash from selling that information to other students at the school he went to.

Most of the information he learnt was good but occasionally he heard something that wasn't.

Something he often heard was that his papa wasn't his really papa, although every time he heard this he just ignored it. He'd become good at ignoring things he didn't want to hear and filtering what he did hear. He didn't care that a few girls in the village thought he was cute so he ignored that, he didn't care about the insignificant ramblings of men who only talked about the women they'd laid with so he ignored that and he certainly didn't care when people called him a bastard child.

He didn't know what a bastard child was anyway and even when he did ask his mother and father they would have a sad look on their face and say it was nothing.

Although he ignored certain things, Kibou wasn't ignorant. He _chose_ to ignore those things and was actually very perceptive. He knew that the women from the Kou family hated him and his mother, but he _chose_ to ignore it. He knew there was a reason why his mama would freeze up every time the emperor was mentioned, but he _chose_ to ignore it. He knew something wasn't right with his papa but he _chose_ to ignore it.

That was until he heard his mother and father talking one day.

That one little bit of eavesdropping changed his entire life. It made him realize just how stupid he was to have ignored all those things.

They were talking about the emperor.

They were talking about Kibou.

"If Kibou were to find out that Ryuuki was his real father I don't know what I'd do."

When Kibou heard that one fateful line his eyes widened.

At first when he heard them he was shocked but that was soon replaced by an innocent curiosity. As he listened more his anger grew. How dare that man hurt his beloved mama? He clenched his fists until they turned pure white. He wouldn't leave though, his feet were grounded to the wooden floor beneath him and his ears perked up as he longed to hear the conversation.

Despite the growing feeling of hate he felt for his real father he wanted to know more about him.

Shuurei was crying now, leaning on Seiran for support. Kibou wanted to be there with her but as he was right now he couldn't.

Swiftly he turned around and ran down the halls quietly and undetected, another skill he inherited from his assassin blood.

He ran directly to his room and closed the door behind him. His room wasn't as big as you would expect the first son of the direct line of the Kou family to have but he found it cosy. Kibou quickly grabbed a few pairs of clothes from his cupboard and stashed them messily into the sack he had taken from Seiran's room. Even though they lived under the pretence of being a family, the two 'parents' didn't sleep in the same chamber. Kibou had also managed to take a purse full of about 50 bronze coins and the Kou clan's Enou Saika token **(A/N: the luminous seven coloured paint thingy-ma-jig).**

He changed out of his red silk robe which marked him a son of the Kou clan and into a simpler brown robe. He had packed his finest robe though, for when he reached his destination.

After he finished packing (though you wouldn't call it that from the unorganized mess that was his bag) he ran to the back of the garden and through the back door un-noticed. Once he left the house he considerably slowed. He stopped a moment to breathe before he headed off in the direction of the merchants guild - which had grown to all provinces over the years - to try and hitch a ride on a caravan.

He was headed for Kiyou.

* * *

By this point in time one worried mother was running around her home looking for her missing son. She was practically pulling her hair out from stress for three reasons; one: obviously because she's a mother and usually a mother would be stressed if her child was missing, two: she's quite a doting parent **(A/N: runs in the family X3)** and three: Seiran had said he had heard someone at the end of their previous conversation and Shuurei was worried Kibou had overheard.

"Um...Oujo-sama?"

Shuurei turned around sharply; she was panting from her search and was quite angry someone had interrupted her. "What is it Seiran?" She demanded. Seiran still called her 'Oujo-sama' when they were in private despite the fact that they were supposed to be man and wife.

"Well, I just discovered my coin purse missing from my room along with the Kou clan's Enou Saika token. You don't think..."

"I doubt it was Kibou but just in case I'll check his room." She replied to the unspoken question before running of in the direction of her son's room. As she expected, he was missing clothes from his cupboard and the clothes he was wearing that day were discarded next to his bed.

"Well?" She heard Seiran's voice from the doorway.

She looked up at him, her face full of worry and regret. "Maybe he really did hear us."

Seiran grabbed her hands gently and she sat on the bed, Seiran crouched to her eye level. "It'll be okay Oujo-sama, we'll find him, and he couldn't have gotten too far." Shuurei nodded and Seiran stood up again. "I'll head over to the merchant's guild to see if he's used the token to join a caravan."

"He's only seven." Shuurei whispered. "He could get hurt."

"He's mature for his age, Oujo-sama. Have more trust in him. I'll head out now." Seiran announced his departure before rushing off.

* * *

The merchant's guild was large and powerful, they were almost always busy and one could see many merchants running around its halls. Kibou doubted they'd have any time to arrange for a kid to join a caravan, that's why he brought the token along. He'd be prioritized ahead of everyone.

Shuurei had told him the story of how she used the token to hitch a ride on a caravan and make her way safely to the capital of the Sa province, she seemed rather pained when telling the story but that was another thing he had ignored and now, looking back on it, he wished he hadn't.

No one noticed Kibou when he entered the building and he didn't know if it was because they were busy or if it was because of his lack of presence, either way he didn't care. He headed straight for the regional director's office undisturbed. There wasn't a meeting in progress at the moment so he walked right in; his sudden entrance caused everyone in the room's head to turn. There were only three people in the room beside himself; the regional director, an assistant and a man dressed in flashy, obviously sold through the merchant s guild type clothing.

"Oh, it's a young boy." Said the regional director on his arrival. The man got out of his seat and walked over to Kibou and crouched down. "What are you doing here? This isn't a place to play." Kibou kept his face blank, like he did towards most people, he acted cold. He grabbed the token out of his pocket and dangled it in front of the man's eyes.

The three men in the room all gasped. "Where'd you get that?" The assistant asked.

Keeping his expression the same, he turned to the man. "My mama." He faced the regional director again. "I want to join a caravan to Kiyou." he said monotonously.

The man in the flashy clothes stood up, whispered something in the regional director's ear before smiling at Kibou and guiding him outside. When the left the room and the door was closed behind them, the man crouched to Kibou's height just like the regional director had before.

"What's your name?"

"Kibou. Kou Kibou."

The man was somewhat surprised but a second later he sighed. "That'd explain it." He looked back at Kibou. "So your mama's Kou Shuurei?"

Kibou nodded.

"I'm Sai Shou, your mama's friend." At that, Kibou looked up with a slight joy in his eyes.

"Your mama's friend?" He said cutely. Sai Shou nodded. "Will you help Kibou?" He changed to a more casual and childish speech that he would use around his parents.

"I'll arrange a caravan for you so stay here." He smiled and said before walking off.

Only moments later he saw his 'papa' walking down the hallway and towards the office Kibou just came out of. In a panic he ran around the corner and out of sight. He decided to wait for Sai Shou there. A few minutes passed and Seiran left the office and walked in the opposite direction. Just after that Sai Shou returned.

"I've organized a caravan. From the looks of it I assume you'd want to leave soon." Kibou nodded. "Then hurry, it'll leave soon." Kibou's eyes brightened up and he silently ran the way Sai Shou came from.

* * *

"Oujo-sama." Seiran said to notify his presence to Shuurei who was currently sitting with her head in her hand. She looked up when she noticed it was Seiran. "I'm sorry. I went to the regional director's office and they said a boy carrying the token had come here and asked to join a caravan headed for Kiyou. I was a bit late though, the caravan's already left."

Shuurei nodded and stood up. "Alright then, at least we know where he is now." She said trying to be cheerful; she clenched her hand into a fist and held it up in a confident pose. "Then we'll just have to follow him to Kiyou and bring him back!" Seiran could see through her confident act.

"Oujo-sama, are you sure you're-"

"Seiran." She said gently. "I'll be fine, it's been eight years already and he might've forgotten me already." Shuurei smiled sadly before grabbing his hands. "Okay Seiran, let's go!"

* * *

Sorry this story's so slow. Next chapter will be when Kibou and Ryuuki finally meet so look forward to that.

Remember the review button is your friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everybody. Thanks for reading.**

**This chapter is when Kibou and Ryuuki FINALLY meet! *dances happily***

**~ENJOY**

* * *

The journey to Kiyou was a long one, to Kibou at least, it took about two weeks because the caravan was fast and even though he spent the whole time with the other members of the caravan he barely warmed up to them at all. Kibou didn't tell them anything other than his name and that he was looking for a relative. He did menial work for the caravan; he had a strong sense of fairness and didn't believe he should be part of the caravan for free.

When they finally got to Kiyou he barely said a word in goodbye. While the members of the caravan all liked him, he wasn't fond of any of them.

It was late at night when he arrived and he realized it would be useless to go to the palace now so instead he headed asked around for directions to the house belonging to the Kou family. This was his first visit in Kiyou and had no idea where to go. A woman in her 20's offered to guide him most of the way, she was kind and Kibou thought she was similar to his mama but he refused to return the kindness and rarely spoke to her on their journey. They passed the palace on the way and Kibou stopped for a few seconds, breathed deeply and looked up at the tall walls before running back to the woman's side.

Kibou was surprised out how run down the Kou house was. His grandfather welcomed him when he arrived; his face was covered in soot and his clothes tattered, in his hand he was holding a ladle. Kibou had met his grandfather a few times before when he visited them in Kou province and he knew how horrible a cook he was.

"Ah, Kibou?" Shouka was shocked his grandson was here.

"Jiji." Kibou smiled, his grandfather was one of the few people he liked. He held out his arms asking for a hug and Shouka picked him up in his arms causing Kibou to grin happily and laugh.

"It's late why don't you come inside and tell me why you're here." Shouka put him down and led him inside. "I'll serve us some tea." At that, Kibou flinched.

"Uh...I'm fine jiji."

The inside was filthy. Without Shuurei there the whole place was full of unwashed laundry, plates from months ago and the kitchen was a bombshell made from the results of Shouka's attempts at cooking.

The tiredness from Kibou's journey finally caught up with him and he almost fell asleep at the table.

"So, mind telling me why you've come to Kiyou?" Shouka asked quietly. Kibou looked up at his grandfather and his sombre expression said it all. "Did you hear Shuurei say something about the emperor?" Kibou nodded and looked down at the table, using his fingers to trace the pattern in the wood. Shouka sighed. "And you're here to meet him? Did you run away?" Kibou nodded again. "Alright. I see. We'll go to the palace tomorrow then."

"Thankyou jiji." He said sleepily. Shouka picked up his grandson who instantly fell asleep in his arms and took him to Shuurei's bedroom where he let him sleep.

* * *

The next day Kibou dressed in his good outfit that he packed along with him and had followed Shouka into the palace. "Alright, Kibou, we'll go to the archives and I'll call Ryuuki-sama and you can-" Shouka begun but mumbled off when he realized Kibou was gone. "Kibou?" he sighed. "Silly boy." He said before going off in search of his grandson.

Kibou was currently searching the palace and being a child, he thought the most logical place to look for an emperor would be in places like up trees and under the floors of raised buildings. He searched for about an hour until he was stopped by someone who effortlessly picked him up by his collar. Kibou slowly turned his head around to face them, still being held in the air by this man who must've been really strong.

"Well what do we have here?" One of them questioned, smiling.

"He's a rat! He's probably trying to mess with the floor to make the building collapse!"

The man holding him up sighed at his partner's strange accusation. "Kouyuu, he's just I kid and I thought you at least would be able to know who he is from his clothes."

Kouyuu quickly flicked his head back to look at the boy and looked shocked. "You're from the Kou clan?!"

Kibou was kind of frightened by these strange men and nodded hesitantly. The man holding him up gently put him down and as soon as his feet returned to the ground he kicked his foot sharply and hit Kouyuu in the shin causing him to buckle, he stuck out his tongue at the two men and ran off as fast as he could, behind him he could hear Kouyuu cursing at him loudly.

* * *

"Little bastard, to kick me dammit." Kouyuu mumbled under his breath. Only twenty minutes after he ran away from the two men was he captured again. Kouyuu seemed a lot angrier than he did at their first meeting and Kibou knew the answer as to why.

The other man seemed nicer, Kibou recalled him being called Shuuei or something. Shuuei was smiling at Kibou and being a lot nicer than Kouyuu. "So what's your name?"

"It's manners to introduce yourself first." Kibou said harshly, this only cause Shuuei to laugh.

"I'm Ran Shuuei and that's Li Kouyuu, if you're from the Kou clan then he'd be your uncle." Kibou looked kind of shocked.

"No way that arsehole's my uncle, he's too much a jerk to be related to me." Shuuei laughed at this but Kouyuu twitched and was about to yell at him.

"He's not blood related to you, he's adopted." Kibou didn't know this term so stared up at him confused. Shuuei laughed at his cute act. "And your name?"

Kibou pouted. "Kibou." He mumbled. "Kou Kibou."

Shuuei smiled. "Nice to meet you Kibou. Would you mind telling us why you're here and what you were doing under the floors?"

Kibou hesitated before answering. "I'm here to find my father."

Shuuei stared at him for a second and stood up, he turned around to Kouyuu and spoke to him quietly for a second, and Kibou used this time to run away again. 'Jerks, they're stopping me from finding him.'

* * *

"Rude little jerk, runs away from us not once but twice." Kouyuu cursed. "Someone should grind some manners into him y'know. To think he's from the Kou clan..." Kouyuu kept on going with the string of curses while Shuuei just smiled awkwardly. They were on their way to the imperial court and were stopping by to pick Ryuuki up along the way.

Since Shuurei mysteriously disappeared eight years ago Ryuuki has been silently mourning. His previous bubbly childish personality was considerably darkened and even though his work remained just as good as it was before he seemed slightly less energetic as he made his way around the palace. His mood may have improved slightly when he was with Kouyuu and Shuuei but it couldn't make up for the lack of Shuurei in his life.

"Your majesty? You ready?" They knocked on the door to the emperor's office and moments later Ryuuki emerged. He still had the posture of a king but his eyes were darker than before. They headed off towards the imperial court.

* * *

Kibou had gotten sick and tired of searching for the emperor, he'd been at it all day and had been captured and had to escape countless times by guards and officials who saw him around the palace. He'd given up searching by himself and asked for the emperor's whereabouts from some housemaids.

"It's mid afternoon now so I'd say his majesty would be at imperial court now." One of the maids replied, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at the sky to get an approximate time.

"Ah, thank you." Kibou said before running off to the imperial court room which he had passed earlier that day.

* * *

It had been an hour since the imperial court started and since they weren't even through half the matters to be brought up Ryuuki guessed this'd be a long day. Things were going as they normally would at court but all proceedings were silenced when the loud voices of the guards outside were heard.

"Ah, what are you doing son? You can't go in there."

"H-Hey! Kid that's off limits!"

A moment later the large doors were opened and the bright light from the setting sun filled the room. Once everyone's eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness they noticed a small figure making its way up the hall towards the emperor s throne.

Kouyuu gasped in recognition and whispered sharply towards Shuuei who was standing on the other side of Ryuuki. "It's that little jerk from this morning. What's he doing here?"

Kibou completely ignored the manners expected when entering court. One should introduce themselves once they enter, bow start walking towards the emperor, bow at the bottom of the stairs and wait for his majesty's approval to stand again, and only on certain occasions was one invited to make his way up the stairs and onto the same level as the emperor.

Kibou ignored all this and rudely walked towards the emperor. He didn't bow at the bottom of the stairs and proceeded to make his way up to the same level as Ryuuki.

Everyone in the court was stunned, even Ryuuki, but what he said next would stun them all the more.

"You're my father aren't you?" Kibou stated coldly.

* * *

**AND THEY MEET!**

**MUAHAHAHA! I made Ryuuki all depressed and shit, and I BLOODY LOVE KIBOU! X3**

**Three cheers for Kouyuu cause he's awesome.**

**And five cheers for Shuuei cause he's more awesome.**


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter. No Shuurei in this one mainly Ryuuki, Kibou and Seiran.**

**Sorry, I should've updated sooner but it was a little bit of a writer s block for the next chapter but I made it up to you with a double update!**

**Grr. Hurry and grow up Kibou so I can marry you! 3**

**Disclaimer: Saiunkoku Monogatari belongs to the awesome person who created it.**

* * *

"You're my father aren't you?" Kibou stated coldly.

There was silence for a minute in the courtroom until one official stood up. "What are you talking about? His majesty hasn't had the time to have a relationship with a woman, there's no way you could be his son! Don't be so rude." this sparked conversation amongst the court and others began to yell similar things. Some officials commented on how similar the two of them looked and he would only be mildly surprised if they were related. Kibou turned around and glared at them all, despite his small figure his glare was powerful and most of the officials were quiet.

Kibou turned back to Ryuuki. "You're my father, right? Answer me." Kibou demanded his voice strong but his lip was quivering in fear.

Ryuuki's eyes were wide and his mouth gaped open. When Kibou repeated his question he snapped out of it. Ryuuki looked up at Kibou with the confidence of an emperor. "And your name is?"

Without any hesitation Kibou replied, "Kou Kibou."

A painful expression flashed on Ryuuki's face for a second. He looked down at the ground; his bangs covered his face in shadows. The silence created by him was enough to start the officials murmuring again. Ryuuki's chest felt tight, he was almost certain of the answer but he wanted to make sure, he used all his willpower to ask the question he already knew the answer to. "Your mother is?"

Kibou was hesitant before speaking again. He felt all the eyes of the people in the room on him. All eyes except the ones he wanted to see. "Kou Shuurei." he answered, his voice was proud, he loved his mum and was proud of her and was in no way shy of saying her name out loud.

Ryuuki bit his lip. Her name was enough to make his heart beat hard and he was afraid he would cry if he didn't stop himself. Thankfully his face was covered in shadows because he'd have no excuse for the pathetic expression he wore.

Ryuuki's silence hurt Kibou more and more by the second. Even though he looked calm and strong from his outward appearance he was a thin string away from crying and throwing a fit.

Those in the court who knew Shuurei were all gasping and muttering amongst themselves, but Kibou couldn't hear this, all he heard was the deafening sound of his heart beat and all he could see was the man who was supposedly his father.

He couldn't take it anymore.

That thin string snapped.

Tears fell from Kibou's eyes and he glared at Ryuuki. "Why won't you say anything?! Why won't you look at me?!" He screamed. "Are you ashamed to have me as your son?! Embarrassed?! Look at me!" He screamed and his tears wouldn't stop. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground. "Look at me." He whimpered.

Yuushin crouched next to Kibou and tried to help him but Kibou slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me!" He yelled.

Kibou stood up and marched over to Ryuuki and grabbed him by the collar, he may have been small and weak but he was so full of emotion that his action stunned everyone there. "Apologize to her! Tell mama you're sorry! Say it! Say you're sorry, asshole!" Kibou's hands were clenched so tightly into a fist that his fingernails dug into his skin and blood trickled down his hands, he started hitting Ryuuki's chest and had to get pulled away by Shuuei.

The guards from outside had come rushing in as soon as Kibou had hit Ryuuki and they were pulling Kibou outside forcefully. "I hate you! You hurt mama! I hate you!" He screamed before the guards finally pulled him outside and the doors closed enveloping the room in darkness again.

It took a minute but everyone's attention was back on Ryuuki who was still looking down. His teeth were clenched and those who were close enough could see the shimmer of a tear drop from his eyes. He brought his hands up to his face and tried to hide his tears.

"Your majesty?" Shuuei said, breaking the silence. All of a sudden Ryuuki got up and left the court but he didn't go in search of Kibou, he stood outside and leant against the railing.

He cried.

Ryuuki was currently in a whirlwind of emotions. He was upset that he had lived for eight years without knowing he had a son. He was happy knowing Shuurei was still alive. He was angry at himself for not helping or knowing about Kibou. He was heartbroken that his son hated him. He was shocked at the thought of having a son, and he was disconcerted about the entire situation.

Although he knew he had to make an heir for years now, he completely forgot about it when Shuurei had left. He completely ignored any thoughts of marriage and children once Shuurei had suddenly disappeared. The pain from her absence was too great for him too even think about marrying someone else. He'd only created that bet because he thought Shuurei would always stay by him even if only a friend.

But here he was; he'd just been yelled at by the son he never knew he had and the son who hated him.

He couldn't help but cry.

* * *

When Kibou was taken away by the guards he was locked inside a guest room, he's the son of the Kou family and possibly the prince so they couldn't put him in the dungeon. A young maid a year or so older than himself brought him dinner, she was flustered and tripped a few times. The morning of the next day he was let out of the room and he spent the next hour walking around the garden outside.

He wasn't allowed to leave the palace as they were still determining if he really was the prince or not so Kibou walked around bored and worried.

In the short matter of time since his unexpected entrance in the imperial court, rumours were flying around about the emperor's son and a few of the passer-bys who saw him immediately assumed him this 'prince'. When Kibou looked at them they'd hurry along like they saw nothing.

A while after he was released from the room Kouyuu a Shuuei had come to visit. When they first arrived there was nothing but silence. Kibou looked at them blankly and the emotions on their faces were a mix of worry, curiosity and sympathy.

Since they weren't going to say anything, Kibou did. "What do you want?"

"We were just...We wanted to be sure." Kouyuu started.

"When you said you were looking for your father we had no idea it was his majesty."

Kibou just stared at them and they begun to feel uncomfortable. "Is that all?"

Shuuei shook his head. "We were close friends to your mother and we know more than anyone how much his majesty loves her. Please don't hate him too much, he doesn't deserve it."

Kibou was about to reply when another visitor came. It was Shouka and Seiran. Kibou's eyes lit up at the sight of them. "Jiji! Papa!" He ran towards them and hugged Seiran around his stomach - that was only where he could reach. He looked up at Seiran and grinned. "Papa, I missed-" He was cut off when Seiran softly hit him on the head.

"Idiot, did you know how worried we were." Seiran crouched down to Kibou and hugged him back. A moment later he stood back up and looked at Kouyuu and Shuuei. "Kibou, why don't you and Jiji go outside, I think he has a letter from mama for you okay." He said, it was directed to Kibou but his eyes hadn't moved from looking at the two men.

"Okay!" He said brightly and grabbed Shouka's hand, pulling him outside.

* * *

"Where's papa going?" Seiran was asked only moments after he left the building. Seiran was a little surprised at the sudden question but smiled gently at the boy.

"To visit someone."

"Can Kibou come too?"

Seiran shook his head. "No. You can't." Kibou pouted which made Seiran laugh. "What did mama's letter say?" He asked while brushing away Kibou's bangs and placing a light peck on his forehead.

"Mama said she's worried about me but can't come visit. Why can't she come here papa?"

Kibou was just too cute and Seiran had to hug him. "It's painful for mama to be here, okay. Don't worry though; you'll see her again soon." He stood back up and started to walk away. "Bye Kibou."

Kibou waved enthusiastically back.

* * *

Ryuuki's work load had decreased a considerable amount after the 'Kibou incident' which he was grateful for because he hadn't been able to concentrate on work at all and his mind kept wandering back to Shuurei and Kibou. He had a son. He still couldn't believe it. Shuurei and Kibou were the only things that occupied his thoughts and on one occasion he accidentally wrote 'Shuurei' on one of the documents he was working on and had to start again.

A knock sounded from Ryuuki's door and he sighed, not really looking forward to a visitor. "Who is it?"

There was a notable silence before the person outside answered. "...Seiran."

At this, Ryuuki jumped up out of his chair and ran towards the door with sparkles in his eyes. "ANI-UE!" He squealed in delight and tackled his older brother to the ground. "I missed you. I missed you. I missed you."

Seiran hesitated before patting Ryuuki's back softly. "Yeah, me too."

Ryuuki scrunched up the fabric of Seiran's shirt into a fist and buried his face into his older brother's chest. "So it is true. I really am a father." He whispered softly. Seiran gently patted Ryuuki's head and hummed a noise to say yes. "He hates me."

Seiran chuckled. "Thought he would."

"Meanie, why are you laughing?" Ryuuki pouted.

"Don't take it to heart, Kibou's cold to everybody at first, he'll warm up to you don't worry." Seiran reassured his brother.

"And Shuurei? Does she hate me too?" Ryuuki asked painfully and Seiran stiffened up.

"You know she could never hate you."

"But she doesn't want to see, that's why you came and she didn't. She hates me, just say it."

Seiran looked down at his younger brother who was breaking down in his arms. "Ryuuki." He sighed and patted his brother's head to comfort him. "She still loves you, and that's why she can't see you. It's painful to her." Ryuuki was looking up at his confusedly. "Why do you think she left Kiyou?"

Ryuuki just stared up at his brother for a moment before answering the question. "To be honest I thought something may have happened to her at first but when there were hints saying she was still alive and well I thought she just hated me and left." This was painful for him, he was clenching his eyes shut, trying to fit back tears.

"She's never hated you. She left Kiyou because she loved you too much and every second was agonizing for her." Ryuuki was once again looking at him confusedly. "Once she found out she was carrying your child she tried to tell you almost every day. Did you know how big a wall your position as emperor builds around you? She couldn't talk to you because of all those around you that kept her away; that hurt her, she tried her hardest to make things work but you didn't so it wasn't possible. She doesn't hate you she just thinks you re unreliable."

Ryuuki was silent. "I'm such a jerk." He whispered into Seiran's shirt.

A few minutes after that they both got up and sat down by the table in his office. "You should try to talk to Kibou, he needs his real father." Seiran suggested.

"He hates me."

"Then change that." Seiran said without a moment of hesitation. "This isn't the Ryuuki I know, the Ryuuki I know would do anything to get Kibou to love him and Shuurei to forgive him."

Ryuuki looked at Seiran stunned but he turned his head downwards remorseful. "That Ryuuki's dead. He died eight years ago when Shuurei left."

"I don't think that's the case." Seiran said calmly. "I think you're just trying to make an excuse to cover the fact that you're a coward." He continued with a sharp glare at Ryuuki and he left without another word.

* * *

Ryuuki took a walk through the garden towards the cherry tree where he and Shuurei first met. He hadn't been there in a while, he always felt like crying whenever he did. It was in this exact place that he saw Shuurei for the first time as well as where he saw her for the last time. He couldn't almost see her again; collapsed on the grass with tears falling from her eyes like storm clouds, her eyes full of hope as she reached out towards him.

It was only know he realized how much Seiran was right. He was too big a coward to break away from the chains which blocked him from Shuurei eight years ago and he was too big a coward now to make things right again. If only he'd tried harder to get away from work all those years ago to spend more time with Shuurei, maybe if he did that then he could be living happily and peaceful now with a wife that wasn't afraid to see him and a son who loved him. If only.

A sound of leaves crunching under someone s feet was heard and Ryuuki spun around swiftly.

He stared at the intruder.

He stared right back.

"Kibou." Ryuuki whispered. The boy was glaring at him now, his eyes full of hate but also a tinge of longing in them, Ryuuki's on the other hand full of regret, remorse and sadness. Ryuuki took a few steps towards the boy and as he came within a metre of him, Kibou stepped back a step but he wasn't fast enough and Ryuuki had the boy held tightly in his arms.

"Kibou. I'm so sorry." He whispered to his son. "I'm a jerk and I know it." The wind blew around them and caused dry leaves on the ground to flutter around them.

"Yeah, you are." Kibou said coldly. He didn't push Ryuuki away but he didn't hug back either, he just stood there, stiff in his father's arms. "Did you love mama?" He asked softly.

"Yes, and I still do. I love you too and I don't care if you hate me, you re my beloved son and nothing will change that." Ryuuki said strongly. He turned to look directly into Kibou's eyes, the same eyes he himself had. "I won't be a coward anymore. I'll face my problems head on. I'll fix this, you'll see. I'll make things right." He let go of his son slowly. "And I'll start by making your mother forgive me." He said before running off.

Kibou stood there, taken aback by his father's strength and determination.

"Father." He whispered and his voice floated on the wind.

* * *

**I SO badly wanted a father-son moment but when one of them hates the other it's kind of hard, but how'd you like the little dose of Kibou warming up to Ryuuki there?**

**To be honest, the only reason I wrote this fanfic was because I wanted to write the line: "Say you're sorry, asshole!" and I'm so glad I did. X3**

**Remember the review button is your friend.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry, I should've updated sooner but it was a little bit of a writer's block for this chapter but I made it up to you with a double update!**

**Disclaimer: Saimono is not mine.**

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* * *

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Ryuuki honestly had no idea what he was doing. He had no plan what-so-ever but that didn't stop him from running to Shuurei as fast as he could. His mind was too clouded to realize that taking a carriage would have been faster and probably the better option. It was dark so thankfully no one noticed that the emperor was running through the slums in the middle of the night.

As he turned the final corner and the Kou family estate came into view he felt a wave of nervousness crash over him. He breathed deeply trying to calm himself but he couldn't get rid of the tight feeling in his chest. He got to the gate and his tiredness rushed up to him, he was heavily panting from the run over here but he knocked on the door anyway.

He was scared. Scared of rejection and scared of how he would react to seeing Shuurei again.

The gate finally opened and Seiran appeared. "Finally decided to stop being a coward?"

"Let me see Shuurei." Ryuuki said and he tried to keep a strong voice but on the inside he was in an emotional whirlpool.

Seiran smiled at this and walked closer to Ryuuki. He placed his hand on top of his younger brother's head like he was patting an animal. "Good luck brother. She's out in the back garden."

Ryuuki gulped and walked in the direction of Shuurei, his knees were wobbling from his fear.

When Shuurei finally came into view Ryuuki froze up. She was standing on the platform which stretched out over the lake, she was watching the koi fish swim in the moonlit pond and the moon  
light made her glow in an ethereal beauty. She had matured since they last saw each other and Ryuuki wondered how many men had fallen for her because of her new beauty.

Ryuuki swallowed his nervousness and started walking towards Shuurei again.

At hearing someone else in the garden Shuurei spun around in the intruder's direction and squinted trying to make out the figure walking slowly towards her. She gasped. Ryuuki finally came out of the shadows of the house and into the light and now that Shuurei could see him her composure started to break. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open, she wanted to speak to him but she also wanted to run away. Shuurei started to edge backward but stopped when she realized the platform would end soon.

Ryuuki looked at her with a pained expression and seeing Shuurei's reaction to him his regret multiplied.

"Shuurei." Whispered Ryuuki.

"W-w-why are you here?"

Tears started dripping from Shuurei's eyes and Ryuuki clenched his eyes and bit his lip to stop him from doing the same. Shuurei was frozen and Ryuuki kept walking towards her. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor but her eyes didn't leave Ryuuki's.

"Ryuuki." She whimpered.

At hearing his name being said by the one he loved after being apart for eight years, Ryuuki lost all composure and hugged Shuurei tightly.

"Shuurei, Shuurei, Shuurei." He kept on saying in a mantra. He looked into her eyes again and wiped away the tears on her cheeks but when tears began to drip from his own eyes he stopped.

Then he began to rant at an unbelievable pace so much so that Shuurei struggled to understand him, "I'm so sorry and I know that no matter what I say it's not enough to receive your forgiveness and I just want to say how stupid I was for not seeing you and how much of a coward I am and I know that being and emperor means that I can't see you as much as I want so I'll quit being emperor and-"

The sound of a loud slap filled the air and spread all throughout the property, Seiran and Shouka could hear from inside the house and winced silently giving their prayers that Ryuuki would survive such a painful blow.

"That was for even considering quitting being an emperor. This country needs you so don't you dare think about quitting." Shuurei said angrily. She was now standing up and towering above Ryuuki who was kneeled on the floor clutching his cheek.

Shuurei slapped him once again but on the other cheek. "I've been holding that one in for eight years now."

Before Ryuuki could react she slapped him one final time. "And that," She smiled. "Was for making me wait." She held out her arms to receive a hug from him.

Ryuuki was shocked; she had forgiven him so easily, even if it did mean that his cheeks were throbbing in pain. He couldn't help the tears of joy that ran down his cheeks and the wide smile that graced his lips. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He yelled as he jumped up and hugged Shuurei with so much force that they fell into the lake. Luckily it wasn't deep so they could stand up.

Before Shuurei could say anything, Ryuuki kissed her with years' worth of feelings. He was so happy that he couldn't stop grinning after he broke away from the stunned Shuurei.

They were both soaking wet and Ryuuki swore that there was a fish in his robe but nothing could stop the joy that they felt at that moment.

Shuurei smiled brightly at Ryuuki and his heart skipped a beat. "You call that a kiss?" She said before hugging Ryuuki and giving him the kiss of a lifetime.

* * *

When the couple returned to the house soaking wet with their hair and clothes clinging to their skin, Shouka couldn't help but chuckle but Seiran was concerned and immediately went to grab towels. "So how's the two lovebirds? Everything sorted out now?"

"Otou-san~" Shuurei whined.

Ryuuki just grinned and wrapped his arms around Shuurei's waist and pulled her closer. "Better than ever." He said and kissed her on the forehead which made her blush. Their lovey-dovey moment was cut off when Seiran came running in and wrapped towels around Shuurei.

"It's nearly winter Ojou-sama, please be careful."

"Ryuuki-sama, don't you need to return to the palace?" Shouka asked.

Ryuuki immediately hugged Shuurei tightly at this. "No way, I'm not leaving Shuurei again." He pouted like a child.

Shuurei giggled at this. "Its okay Ryuuki, go back, I'll come visit tomorrow."

"Really?" Ryuuki asked with a sparkle in his eye.

"I promise."

Ryuuki grinned and hugged Shuurei before placing a kiss on her lips again."Okay. Love you." He said before leaving.

* * *

Kibou was seriously surprised. He didn't expect Ryuuki to suddenly barge into his room in the middle of the night and jump on his bed and glomp him.

"What the hell? It's like midnight, are you five or something?" Kibou said tiredly but still with a sharp tone. He quickly lit the candle next to his bed. When he saw that Ryuuki was soaked he nearly pushed him off the bed. "Are you trying to annoy me or what? My bed's soaked now."

"Sorry but I'm just so happy!" He squealed like a child and started bouncing on the bed even though he was kneeling.

"Settle down, I'm tired and can't deal with you just yet." Kibou said yawning.

Ryuuki hugged him tight and somehow managed to knock all the tiredness out of him. "We can finally be a real family." He said enthusiastically.

"You mean...?"

"Yep! Shuurei's forgiven me. Isn't that great?"

Kibou smiled slightly, so slightly that you could barely see it. "That's great, for you. I still hate you though so please get out of my room."

Ryuuki looked hurt. "But-"

"Out." Kibou said and tried to push Ryuuki out but being a child struggled to push him to the door. Kibou locked the door after he'd gone.

"Kibou!~" Ryuuki whined from the other side of the door. There was silence for a while and once Kibou had finally returned to bed and was trying to sleep again Ryuuki said something finally, before leaving. "Your mother's coming tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning Ryuuki was waiting out in the courtyard with a grin on his face, practically dancing out of glee. He wanted to stay in a place where he could always see the gate so that as soon as Shuurei arrived he could greet her immediately. He'd even got someone to bring a desk out to the courtyard and was doing some work while waiting.

By late morning everyone had gathered around watching the Emperor's strange behaviour and once they learnt that he was waiting for his lover more people arrived and they were all excited about finally seeing the woman who had stolen the emperor's heart.

Around midday Shuurei arrived and was immediately greeted by a massive hug from Ryuuki and the many gazes of onlookers. "Um, Ryuuki...?"

"Sorry, but they also wanted to see Shuurei."

Kouyuu and Shuuei were the second people to greet Shuurei and in reply received a hug from her.

The murmurs started to get louder all of a sudden and everyone looked at one section of the crowd. Kibou was making his way through the many people and everyone had edged away making a path for the little prince. As soon as he saw his mother his face lit up and he ran towards her. "Mama!"

Shuurei knelt down arms wide and she picked Kibou up as she ran into her arms and she swung him around before returning him to the ground. "Silly boy, I was so worried. Don't ever go running off again."

Seiran emerged from the carriage and Kibou ran over to him. "Papa!" Ryuuki looked saddened by this but he smiled albeit sadly because it was understandable. Seiran picked him up like he would a puppy **(A/N or at least how I hold my dog, she's a staffy so we have to hold her a certain way cause she's kinda big)** and gave him a hug.

Ryuuki turned back to Shuurei and grabbed her hand. "Come with me." He grinned and pulled her off through the crowd to the garden.

"Thank you for coming, Kibou looks a lot happier now."

Shuurei just smiled at him.

"Thank you for forgiving me, I thought I wouldn't be forgiven or that it'd be a lot harder than that but I'm so glad that you've forgiven me and we can finally get married and-" Ryuuki started to say but got cut off by Shuurei.

"Did you think I've fully forgiven you?" Shuurei asked with a hand on her hip and a slight smirk.

Shocked, Ryuuki managed to stutter out a few words."W-wait, so...?"

"I've only forgiven you for not seeing me while I was in the palace. There's a lot more I haven't forgiven you for."

Ryuuki was gaping now. "No way, I thought things would be fine now."

Shuurei smiled. "I love you and I'll be here with you but I'm not marrying you yet." Ryuuki's lip quivered. "You're not reliable enough as a father yet. Here, let's make a bet, I'll marry you if you can get Kibou to see you as his papa, if not then we're just friends."

"So, all I gotta do is make Kibou love me and you'll marry me?"

Shuurei frowned. "You're making it sound like a chore."

"No, no! I really do want Kibou to like me but..."

"It's not going to be easy." Shuurei said finishing his sentence. "He doesn't open up to people."

Ryuuki smirked and held out his hand for a handshake. "You're on. It's a deal." Shuurei returned his smirk and shook his hand firmly.

* * *

**Did I keep them in character? It was kinda hard.**

**Anyway, I bet you all thought this fanfic was almost over...WELL IT'S NOT! That was only the beginning. MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**Remember the review button is your friend**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you so much guys. I got some serious QUALITY comments from you all so huggles to all of those who reviewed! X3**

**Also I give I massive hug to T42n24t2, Kuga Asai and cuLLenator.56 because they commented not once, but twice! *squeezes the life out of you three***

**And I also want to give a SUPER MASSIVE HUG to T42n24t2 and Kuga Asai, AGAIN because their comments were awesome and made me REALLY happy and when I was in a bit of a writer's block last chapter it was Kuga Asai's comment that motivated me again. I'm so sorry that I've probably embarrassed you out of your wits and have hugged the living daylights out of you but I really want to express my gratitude to you. X3 *goes off and writes an omake as thankyou***

**This chapter is mostly crack. I just wanted to write cute, funny family moments between the three of them and that's what this chapter's all about.**

**I had to do some research for this chapter cause my dad and I don't get along well but my mum and I are best buds so I have absolutely no reference of how a father and his child would bond so I had to go and ask some of my friends and I really didn't want to write a cliché chapter where they go fishing or hunting or something so I hope this did a sufficient job. I worked part time at a childcare thingy one time during the holidays and we played the hug-a-game so I incorporated it in here.**

**BY THE WAY I _FINALLY_ GOT WORD FOR MY LAPTOP!!! NO MORE NOTEPAD!!!!!!!!!!**

**~ENJOY**

* * *

The only way to describe Ryuuki at the moment was blissful. He had spent the whole day anxiously awaiting this moment, he was finally; after eight years void of it; going to spend a night with Shuurei again. Any unfortunate soul who happened to cross paths with Ryuuki at this moment would be met with the blinding light of joy that seemed to be radiating from him as he skipped (not literally, he's an emperor and has an image to uphold) to the consort's residence where Shuurei would be staying since she wasn't permitted to leave the palace since Kibou and her relations to Ryuuki had been affirmed.

"SHUUUUUREREEEIII!!! I've come to bridge the-!" **(A/N: Anyone remember that line?)** Ryuuki yelled as he made his way down the corridor towards Shuurei's room but he was cut short as soon as he swung the door open.

"Oh, Ryuuki, Good evening." Shuurei said calmly. Ryuuki attention was entirely placed on the figure behind her to pay listen to her.

"Kibou!" He yelled before hugging his son tightly.

At the sudden touch Kibou went stiff and looked at him with a disgusted face. "Why the hell are you interrupting mama and me? I haven't seen her in weeks, go away."

"I haven't seen her in eight years, I'm staying." Ryuuki pouted, resolving to childish antics to 'beat' Kibou in this 'match'.

"Whose fault do you think that is?" Ryuuki was taken aback by his comment and the heavy silence hung in the air.

"Guys, guys, settle both of you stay here, the more the merrier." Shuurei effortlessly broke their argument without even stopping the smooth motion of brushing her long black hair. Both of them were quiet after that, each of them not wanting to anger her any further as they both very well knew the wrath of her anger. "Kibou, hop to bed, it's getting late."

"Not without you mama. I'm not leaving you alone with that bad man, who knows what he would do to mama while I'm gone." Ryuuki visibly twitched at this whereas Shuurei only laughed lightly into her fist.

"Okay, okay." Shuurei slowly joined Kibou under the heavy covers leaving Ryuuki standing alone in the middle of the room. Caught between the desire to join them and the nervousness as to how Kibou would act to that left Ryuuki hesitant and trying to find something to occupy his mind he fiddled with the hem of his robe. Shuurei couldn't help but chuckle, he looked just like a shy elementary school kid on his first day of school, it was hard to believe he was an emperor when he looked like this. "You come to."

Ryuuki's face immediately lightened up at this and nearly dived into the bed if it wasn't for Kibou interfering. As soon as Ryuuki had joined them Kibou had instantly acted as a blockade between Shuurei and him and nearly pushed Ryuuki off the bed to keep him as far away as possible from her.

Ryuuki in return to this antic stuck out his tongue childishly. "You guys are such kids." Shuurei sighed and rolled over facing away from them. Worried that they'd upset her, the two boys begun to shake Shuurei.

"Mama?"

"Shuurei?"

"Mama?"

"Shuurei?"

And their identical behaviour Shuurei began laughing. "You two are like twins!" She petted them both on the head. "Goodnight you two."

* * *

Ryuuki had spent all day interviewing officials as they wondered through the palace asking them questions about their family and their sons and how they bonded trying to record as much information as possible to use for his 'Father and son bonding time' together with Kibou.

"Um, Your Majesty?" Kouyuu said, "Have you done any work today at all?"

"Um...no..." Ryuuki grinned awkwardly and sweat dropped. When Kouyuu began to emit an angry aura he took a few steps back and swiftly spun around and ran away.

Finally out of Kouyuu's sight, Ryuuki leant against a wall and unfolded a piece of paper from his robe; it was Kibou's timetable. Since he'd been affirmed as the prince and the only living heir to the throne, Kibou had been swamped with lessons and tutors of how to become a great emperor, this of course meant the Ryuuki seldom had a chance to see his son and even when Kibou was free it didn't mean he wanted to spend his free time with Ryuuki; which led Ryuuki to the conclusion that the only way he could spend time with Kibou was to go to him while being tutored.

He smiled as he made his way off to the archives where Kibou currently was.

* * *

All Kibou wanted to do was sleep.

All of his tutors had continuously batted lessons into his head leaving little time for breaks in an attempt to 'make up for lost time'. It was made slightly easier since Kibou was a fast learner – a result of having two officials as parents - but he had no motivation towards the subject from lack of interest and his hate for his father, thus he made no effort to learn. The only thing he was interested in was the combat skills he learnt but as a part of his hurried teaching they had cut time in his combat skills lesson and replaced them with government lessons.

He seriously wanted to murder his tutors for forcing him into such a tight position.

Needless to say he was pissed when his father came bursting into the room and took over the job of his tutor. It was only later that his mood brightened when his mother came to visit too.

She was very surprised when she noticed Ryuuki's presence in the room.

"Ryuuki? Don't you have, I don't know, _work_ to do?"

"Nope, took the day off today." Ryuuki said cheerfully.

"Is that so? Then why did I happen to pass Kouyuu who was frantically searching for you since you ran away from work?" Ryuuki gulped.

"Irresponsible idiot." Kibou muttered and Ryuuki held back from glaring at him.

Shuurei sighed but smiled anyway. "At least you're making progress."

"Not really. He won't let me help him."

"I'm not going to get help from somebody who can't even do their own work." Kibou smirked.

"Hey, I _chose _not to do my work, thank you very much."

Shuurei gently, with a mother's touch, closed the book Kibou was reading and placed it aside. "I know studying can be boring, so let's play a game, all three of us." Shuurei offered. "It's called hug-a-game. We'll all take turns in asking someone a question relating to Kibou's studies and if you get the answer right you get a hug."

Kibou and Ryuuki were both ecstatic about getting a hug from Shuurei and agreed without a second thought.

* * *

Somehow their questions managed to get off track from the Saiunkoku government to silly questions asked only for fun.

"Now Kibou, your question is 'Why is Ryuuki an idiot?'" Shuurei said with a smirk on her face that made Ryuuki pout and mutter under his breath.

"That's an easy one, he was born that way!" Kibou grinned.

"Good job Kibou! Here's a hug." Shuurei congratulated enthusiastically and gave Kibou a bear hug.

Ryuuki had a shocked face on. "That was right?!" He turned away and sulked. "Shuurei's a meanie."

Shuurei smiled lovingly at his childish behaviour and without disturbing Kibou who was snuggled in her lap, leant over and gave Ryuuki a light peck on the lips. "Compensation."

Ryuuki smiled back at his beloved and kissed her again, both of them careful not to awaken the sleeping Kibou who had curled in his mother's lap and the three of them embraced lovingly.

Unfortunately for them, the archives are a public place and the sight of the 'royal family' in such a sweet moment happened to draw quite a few spectators. Amongst them, Li Kouyuu who had finally, after searching for hours, had found the archives and therefore the emperor. Without a second thought he barged in and snatched Ryuuki away from his family, breaking up the scene.

"Idiot emperor, get back to work." Kouyuu spat and dragged Ryuuki out of the archives by his collar.

"Um, Kouyuu?"

"What?!"

"My office is that way." Ryuuki said pointing in the opposite direction of where they were going.

Kouyuu blushed at this and replied angrily. "I know that!" He yelled while stomping off in the new direction.

* * *

Ryuuki had somehow managed to bribe Kouyuu into letting him have the afternoon off so he wandered around the cherry blossom trees in the garden. It was the beginning of winter and although the first snow hadn't arrived yet some frost lined the branches and the leaves crackled under his feet, remnants of the autumn passed.

Like father, like son they say. Kibou had taken a liking to this part of the garden the moment he saw it and on his break he wandered through there only to run into Ryuuki.

"What are you doing here? Why do you keep following me?" Kibou stated coldly.

"I'm allowed to go where I want; this _is _my palace after all. Besides I was here first."

Kibou turned around but didn't leave; instead he took a seat on a rock next to the pond. "You're always here, why's that?" Kibou asked curiously, his voice was the only thing that gave his curiosity away since he was facing away from Ryuuki.

Ryuuki smiled, his son was beginning to warm up to him. "This is where I first met your mother."

At the mention of his mother, Kibou swung around and gave his full attention to Ryuuki.

"Wanna know more?" Kibou nodded his head vigorously. Ryuuki closed his eyes for a moment and smiled before looking back up at the bare branches of the cherry blossom tree nostalgically. "It was ten years ago, I had only just been crowned the emperor and like you, didn't care about this country." Kibou became captivated when he learnt his father was just like him in terms of his lack of motivation. "That was until I met Shuurei. She was in desperate need for money and as an offer made by Shou-taishi – one of the grand mentors here – became my temporary concubine, you know what that means right?"

"I'm not an idiot." Kibou snapped coldly.

"Well, even though it seemed she was only my concubine on the outside she was placed in charge of motivating me but she didn't even meet me for about a week. Then, we finally met here."

A strong wind blew and ruffled Ryuuki's robe and the branches swayed.

"It was spring and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom; that became a symbol for us, cherry blossoms, we were really into them;" Ryuuki grinned. "I was walking through the garden to get some fresh air and to get away from the many officials trying to persuade me to work and that was when I saw her. She was reaching up to grab a petal from one of the cherry blossom buds but was too short, I grabbed one for her but the wind blew and I broke the branch." Ryuuki explained and snapped a low-hanging branch off the tree.

He walked over to Kibou and softly tapped him on the head with the stick. "When I gave it to her you know what she did? She laughed. I found her simply stunning at that moment; I never knew that such a small thing as a laugh could have such an effect on me; while it may not have been that exact moment that I fell in love with her, it marks the beginning of my love for her beginning to kindle."

Ryuuki handed the stick over to Kibou who took it without looking away from Ryuuki's eyes. Kibou was so engrossed in Ryuuki's story that he watched him with sparkly eyes of admiration.

At seeing his son bonding with him, Ryuuki crouched down to eye level with Kibou. "I really love your mum. She's everything to me and I want you to know that I didn't mean to hurt her." Ryuuki gently placed his hands on Kibou's knees; Kibou grasped the branch tightly and brought it to his chest.

Kibou looked down and his eyes became covered by his bangs. Ryuuki turned his face to see Kibou's expression, it looked like he was about to cry but even so the sides of his mouth were slightly curved up in a smile. "I know." Before Ryuuki could react, Kibou stood up and ran away.

Ryuuki smiled as the wind gently blowed around him.

He was finally warming up to him.

* * *

**I know I said it was mainly crack, but that was MAINLY crack. I added a little sweet moment at the end cause this chapter needed just a tiny bit more fluff.**

**Well how did you like it?**

**By the way I'll be drawing the hug-a-game scene where Shuurei and Ryuuki kiss with Kibou resting in Shuurei's lap so be sure to check that out when it's done. I'll post it on my DA account and while you're there be sure to check out my other SaiMono fanart I made.**

**DA account's link is in my profile. Username is Kiaraz.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry guys, this chapter is kind of a filler chapter, I'm hesitant to start writing the last few chapters and quite frankly SaiMono isn't doing it for me at the moment, I've gone and secluded myself in Skip Beat again. BUT I will try and write some more soon.**

**This chapter is mainly going to be Kibou-centric since lately it's been all about Ryuuki so it's about time Kibou became the main again. I'm not going to write another Shuurei-centric chapter since she's not all that necessary to this part of my fanfic and she already gets enough face time being the main character of the real series.**

**I only realized this when I uploaded this chapter, but this chapter and chapter 4 have the EXACT amount of words as each other (minus this line).**

**~ENJOY**

* * *

Despite the fact that Kibou made it blatantly obvious that he didn't want him around, Ryuuki seemed to follow him wherever he went. Countless times Kibou had insulted his father and told him to go away – usually involving rude words he had picked up from the older kids at the school he used to attend – but his father was never fazed by these attempts and still refused to leave.

One of the only things that could get him to leave was to say that "Mama was looking for him" but since it had been used quite a few times already, Ryuuki was beginning to catch on and the line was therefore hindered useless. The line by far the most efficient was "Oh look, there's uncle Reishin!" this line always seemed to get Ryuuki running for the hills and although Kibou didn't know the reasoning behind it, he honestly didn't care so long as it did its job.

But today was different, today Kibou didn't run away from his father; instead he actually went _to _him rather than brush him off. So of course when Ryuuki was visited by his beloved son he was shocked.

"Kibou," Ryuuki's lips turned up in a grin. "Did you come to see me?"

At this Kibou's cheeks turned dark red and his eyes darted around the room but never once looking at Ryuuki. "Of course not!" He sharply denied. "It's just cold in the archives and I know it's warming in the main buildings because of the vents and furnace." He quickly lied. "There's no way that I'd come on my own accord just to see you, don't get cocky." He huffed and plonked himself lazily next to the window, his book open and he started reading.

Ryuuki just watched Kibou for a few minutes but when his lingering eyes began to make Kibou squirm he snapped at his father. "Get back to work old man."

"Hey, I'm not old! I'll have you know I'm still in my twenties." Ryuuki said trying to stand up for himself. Kibou just stuck his tongue out in disagreement.

A little while later Shuurei came in with manjuu buns for Ryuuki. "Kibou? Why are you here?" She then had a slight smirk on her face. "Did you come to see papa?"

"Of course not! No way in hell would I do that!" Kibou shot at her but this only make her giggle.

She smoothly walked over to Ryuuki and placed the plate of manjuus in front of him getting _very _close in the process. "Y'know, he indirectly admitted you were his papa there."

Ryuuki shone with happiness there and grinned at Kibou, he stood up and his arms were held wide open but before he could get any closer to Kibou, he yelled at him. "Don't you dare come over here! If you do I swear I'll jump out this window right now and run to the archives." Kibou edged backwards until his back was flat against the window pane.

Ryuuki sulked and collapsed back into his chair. Shuurei was still next to him so she leant down close to him so their faces were only centimetres apart and her breath tickled his ear. "You're doing a lot better than I thought you would, good work." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and left the room quietly.

Ryuuki could stop grinning.

* * *

Palace life was lonely, Kibou could definitely say that. Even with the constant buggering from Ryuuki there were times when he was alone. Shuurei was often busy herself still fully loving the work of a government official she was helping with odd jobs, Seiran had joined the imperial army and was off on missions a lot and Shouka had his own work to do.

And that's how Kibou found himself alone in the middle of a large grassy patch of the garden.

Bored.

He sighed and collapsed onto the soft grass arms and legs spread wide, this area had very little trees so the dead leaves that scattered the ground were far out of reach. He watched the grey clouds move slowly through the sky and wondered when the first snow would arrive. That's when his vision suddenly became blocked.

"Who're youse?" A girl said with a heavy country bumpkin accent. Her hair was a rusty red colour and tied into braids on each side of her head.

"He looks kinda fancy, might be a fairy or something." Another girl said, this girl was slightly older than the previous and her blonde hair was cut short and straight just below her ears.

"Like a fairy would be here." This girl was the oldest out of the three, she looked about fifteen or so, she leant over Kibou peering into his eyes scrutinisingly. Kibou sunk into the grass edgily trying to move away from her. Kibou's defence mechanism switched on and he swung his foot kicking the girl's legs out from underneath her. He quickly hopped up but before he could run away she had grabbed him by his collar.

"Ya little brat, you dare kick me?" She glared angrily. "Since you've hurt me it's going to affect my work performance, you can help me out can't you, brat?" She moved in closer and her leering eyes made Kibou gulp, instinctively he nodded without thought but at least it made the girl back up.

"Yay!" Squealed the red head girl. "Finally someone as young as me works here." It was only then that Kibou realized that all three of them were wearing house maid's uniforms.

And then it struck him.

He'd just agreed to be a maid for a day.

* * *

Even though he did grow up outside of the palace he was still a part of the Kou family and as such he rarely helped with chores. He did enjoy cooking with his mother and would join her whenever possible and occasionally helped out cleaning but he'd never even held a mop before.

"What in the world is this contraption?" Kibou questioned curiously while observing a washboard.

All three girls stared at him unbelievably. "Are you serious?" Kagami, the middle one asked. "It's a washboard, you use it to wash clothes."

"Wash clothes?" The girls nodded. "With this thing?" They nodded again. Kibou just looked at them like they were speaking another language. "You're kidding me right? How in the world can you wash clothes with that?!" He started poking the board.

The girls just sighed. "Maybe he is a fairy after all." They whispered amongst themselves.

"More like a fairy prince." Chika, the red head added. At that word Kibou stiffened up, luckily they didn't notice.

Although he wouldn't admit it, he was having fun and he wouldn't want it to stop by them realizing his identity, who knows how they would treat him then.

"Alright brat, come help prepare dinner." The oldest one, Fujiko said flicking her wrist to beckon him over. At least he could handle cooking, Kibou sighed in relief, amongst all chores cooking was definitely his forte.

"Wow, you're actually pretty good." Kagami said.

"I prefer the term 'awesome'." Kibou said cockily and Fujiko hit him on the head.

"Geez brat, don't get cocky just because you're a little good in the kitchen, do remember you didn't even know how to use a mop before this morning." Fujiko teased.

"Bitch." Kibou muttered under his breath.

Fujiko twitched. "What was that ya little brat?!" She yelled and bashed him with a spoon.

"Oowie." Even though Kibou was bruised all over from Fujiko's rough hits and covered in flour and other food he couldn't stop laughing, it was like he had three sisters now and he was really enjoying their time together. Maybe palace life could be good after all.

"Your Highness?!" A maid's loud was heard from the hallway and instantly Kibou turned back to the soup he was making hoping that she wouldn't notice him. "Prince?!" Her voice was heard again and Kibou's stiffened when he realized she was getting closer.

"Ah, that's right. I heard all those rumours about the new prince." Kagami said.

"Yeah, me too, apparently he's the emperor's illegitimate child."

"I heard he made a ruckus in court. He sounds pretty silly; I want to meet 'm now." Chika added enthusiastically.

"Prince! I finally found you." Everyone in the room turned towards the maid who had just entered. She hastily made her way over to Kibou and grabbed his arm, snatching him away from the pot he was stirring. "What are you doing your highness? Cooking? Please leave that to the maids, there's no need to bother yourself with such a job." She began to pull him away. "My goodness you're filthy, we'll fix that soon enough but your father's been worried sick so hurry along now."

Kibou took one look at the three girl's shocked faces before being dragged away by the maid.

"Holy crap."

"That was..."

"Did we just..."

The three of them just looked at each other.

"Oh my god, I just called the prince a brat!"

* * *

"Kibou!" As soon as he heard his father's voice he winced preparing for the onslaught of questions that his father surely had, but he was met with silence when they met. Surely something was wrong so he looked up to his father's face. He was smiling. "Did you have fun? I want to hear all about today." Ryuuki said calmly.

Kibou was shocked, Ryuuki had respected his own decisions and that made Kibou incredibly happy. He smiled back at his father.

"Hey, idiot,"

"Hmm?"

Kibou almost laughed when Ryuuki actually responded to that. "Do you know how to use a washboard?"

"A what?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Because of the previous day's events of being a temporary maid, Kibou had the urge to sneak out on classes again and maybe go further than just hanging around the maids for a day.

He wanted to go outside the palace.

But of course he knew he needed a partner, someone strong in case they met any danger and also laid back enough to allow him to leave.

One person came to mind

"Hey, jerk-of-a-father," Ryuuki's head popped up, once again stupidly responding to such a name. "Wanna go out?"

"Thanks but I've already got Shuurei and you're my son."

"Eew, not that way, you're sick. I mean go outside the palace for fun."

Ryuuki contemplated that. "I don't think we'll be allowed."

"That's why we won't tell anyone."

Ryuuki smirked. "I like the sound of that."

"Thought you would, now hurry up." Kibou hurried waving his hands.

In a few minutes Ryuuki had managed to change out of his usual emperor clothes and into something more comfortable and 'commoner looking' even if it was more expensive than an average person's clothes. A few minutes after that they had managed to sneak out past the guards and were walking through one of the shopping districts in the city.

"You know, when I first met your mother she took me out to this same place too." Ryuuki said softly amongst all the chatter and noise of the stalls but Kibou could hear him, he looked up interested. Ryuuki smiled. "She made me work at an accessory shop and sell hair pins to women who found me attractive," Ryuuki laughed at the thought. "and that was a lot of women." He laughed even louder at his own joke and Kibou couldn't help but laugh too albeit only shortly.

Ryuuki was shocked and stopped walking.

"What?"

He grinned. "You laughed! I finally heard you laugh!"

Kibou blushed. "Geez, don't get so excited over something like that."

Suddenly a small ball rolled over to Kibou's foot. It was small, about the size of a child's fist and made from knitting. Kibou picked it up.

"Hey, over here!"

Kibou turned around in the direction of the voice. A few teenage boys were waving frantically and grinning at Kibou. He envied them, their lives were so free and peaceful, and Kibou would love to have joined them.

"Pass it over here." One of the boys yelled.

Kibou looked blankly at them and Ryuuki had to nudge him to get him out of his trance. "Go on, join in." Kibou smiled and threw the ball back in a large swing.

The ball only got halfway to where the boys where and rolled a further distance. One of the boys went to pick it up and continued on to Kibou.

"Nice throw there, kid." He laughed and Kibou pouted. "Here," the boy bent down, he was in his late teens so was a lot taller than Kibou. "Bend you arm like this and use your other arm to point in the direction you want to throw to, then swing your arm forward and let go at the end." He demonstrated.

Kibou began to practice without the ball and when the boy gave him a thumbs up he threw the ball with all his might over to the group of boys, this time it made its way there and one of them caught it.

"Good job kid." The boy rustled his hair. "Wanna come join us? If your papa will let us that is?" He looked up at Ryuuki who nodded. "Or papa could play too." He grinned and grabbed both their wrists, dragging them along to his group.

They played until the sun went down and exhausted, Kibou had to get carried by Ryuuki home.

He wondered how the group of boys would react if they knew that they just played catch with the emperor and a prince.

Kibou let the thought escape his head as he slowly became sleepier as the minutes went by.

"Hey father?" Ryuuki didn't answer but Kibou knew he acknowledged him. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

Ryuuki hesitated before answering truthfully. "Probably not."

Kibou smiled sadly. "Thought that'd be the case." He said before giving in to the tiredness that overcame him and he fell asleep in his father's arms.

Luckily for him he was unconscious for the massive lecture they got when they returned to the palace.

* * *

The next day Kibou went out to look for the three maids he met the other day to thank them, he searched around asking for them and finally found them in the late morning. When they saw him they were shocked, and unlike their first encounter they quickly bowed to him when he got close, this made him frown for a split second before smiling again.

"I just wanted to say thank you for your company the other day, I really enjoyed it and hope we could do it again sometime that is, if you're not too bothered now that you know who I am."

"I'm so sorry your highness!" Fujiko yelled out suddenly. "I called you a brat! I'm sorry."

Kibou frowned. "You didn't seem to hesitate at all before you knew who I am but now you're speaking to me so formally." Fujiko and Kagami shivered. Kibou smiled though and she eased up. "I really enjoyed it when you didn't know who I was, if it's possible I'd like to return to that way, will you do that for me?"

The girls hesitated. "We'd like to your highness but that would be incredibly rude, my apologies."

Kibou drew his eyebrows together sadly. "I see..." He turned around. "Goodbye then." He said and walked off, leaving his 'normal' palace life behind.

What was he kidding, palace life would never be normal.

* * *

**Sorry about the shitty chapter. I know where I want this fanfic to end but I need to lead up to that and I'm a bit scared to start that so instead of building up the story line I decide just to add in this extra bit a crap and thicken up the story.**

**Hope you enjoyed it anyway.**

**Please review if you want the girls to appear again.**

**Remember the review button is your friend.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys, sorry for the long delay. It was holidays and I've been pulled this way and that between sleep over and hanging out requests and for the people who don't know, I'm a scout and just went to the Australian scout jamboree which was two weeks long and as soon as I got back I was really sick. I've also been a little bored of Saimono during that time so sorry that I haven't posted in ages.**

**I did draw some Saimono/Hope fanarts but most of them are traditional art (this is seriously rare for me, I prefer digital) So shoot me now before I do this:**

**Sorry for the shameless self-advertisement but: (just remove spaces)**

**http://kiaraz. deviantart.com/art/Saiunkoku-Monogatari-RyuuShuu-144510536 - Corny I know and I can see sooooo many mistakes but it took me 20 hours to make so PLEASE go look at it**

******http://kiaraz. deviantart**.com/art/Hope-oc-s-152634973 -the kids!!!! MUAHAHA!

******http://kiaraz. deviantart**.com/art/Happy-coughcough-family-X3-152634646 - Ryuuki looks like a loner...

******http://kiaraz. deviantart**.com/art/Hope-Da-3-Maids-of-AWESOME-152634533 - MY MAIDS! *huggles* love these guys.

**Once again sorry.**

**Anyways here's the story:**

**~Enjoy**

* * *

The city was in festival mode, the streets were lined with booths and attractions full of staff getting ready for the real deal later that night and preparing them for the onslaught of children and childish adults, one of which being the Emperor.

Ryuuki was hyped up for the festival that night and could help but prance around the entire palace grabbing random officials who walked by and dancing with them and taking flowers out of vases and giving them out to the women in the palace. The Emperor was well known for his strange antics but this was beyond comprehension. Ryuuki was only freed from his blissful state when his so-called lover hit him over the head with a book.

"What are you doing, idiot?" Shuurei questioned through her teeth, annoyed and embarrassed by her lover.

"Shuurei!" Ryuuki was even brighter than before and promptly lifted Shuurei up into his arms.

"I-idiot! Put me down." Ryuuki reluctantly put her down and Shuurei had to regain composure from the sudden lift. "Seriously, you'll shock me half to death if you keep that up." Ryuuki could only grin at this and give Shuurei a peck on the cheek.

"Where's Kibou?"

"Oh, he's in his room right now, he's ill and the doctor suggested he be left alone."

"No way!" Ryuuki started to run on the spot and bite his nails, half of him wanted to quickly run to his side but the doctor had said not to.

Shuurei giggled. "Idiot, just go." She tapped him on the back and instantly Ryuuki ran off.

* * *

The hall outside Kibou's room was completely quiet except for one old man writing something in a book, Ryuuki guessed this was the doctor. Ryuuki coughed into his hand to get his attention, the doctor's head darted upwards.

"Ah, your highness, I thought you'd come."

"How is he?"

"Kibou? He's fine, just resting now. To be honest we don't actually know what's wrong we've assumed it's either some unknown bug but he's improving and will be up in a short while, nothing big. Please excuse me Your Majesty." Ryuuki thanked the doctor and he hurried away.

Just as Ryuuki was about to open the door it was slammed open in his face.

"Idiot, you were told to leave me alone." Kibou said roughly, his hair was dishevelled and he was covered in sweat obviously sick.

"Kibou!" Ryuuki shouted worriedly and hugged the boy.

"Baka! What if it's contagious? Get off." Kibou shoved him off. "I'm fine, see, I'm up and moving, I'll be able to leave in a little while so go away." Kibou tried to close the door on his father but Ryuuki caught it and being much stronger than his son, he kept it open.

"That's good to hear." He smiled and Kibou couldn't help but smile slightly too. "If you are feeling better later then let's go to the festival, all three of us, 'kay?"

Kibou nodded and Ryuuki gave him one last hug before leaving him alone.

* * *

Ryuuki ran into Kouyuu and Shuuei almost straight away. "Hey, I heard the little brat's sick, what's he got?" Kibou asked.

"They don't know, it's some unknown bug."

"Do you think he could've been poisoned?" Shuuei added.

Ryuuki was suddenly worried. "No way why would he be- oh, right." He started to pace, trying to think. "Shuuei, Kouyuu, can you guys look into this, I want to be sure."

"Of course." The replied and bowed as Ryuuki left.

* * *

"So, let me get this right. You think I'm in danger?" Kouyuu nodded, Kibou just scoffed. "Are you kidding me? Your security is so uptight here, there's no way I could be poisoned."

"But just in case, we want to be safe."

"Whatever, so I just need to chose a few people I trust to be in charge of any areas that could be dangerous right?" They nodded. Kibou smirked. "I know just the girls."

He instantly left his chamber and although he had just woken up he still had the decency to have changed into proper attire, although his hair was awfully messy.

He headed straight for the kitchen and when his targets came into sight he quickly thought of something. He grabbed an egg out of a basket near his feet and chucked it up and down in his hand smirking, before pegging it at the girl cleaning a large bowl at the basin.

She spun around seething in anger. "What little asshole did-" Fujiko looked surprised. "Oh."

Kibou chuckled. "Come on, stop it with this 'polite' act, I know you really want to belt me one in the face right now. Why don't you?"

"But your-"

"What? A prince? I don't see any princes here; all I see is a guy starting an egg fight with his friend." He leant down and picked up another egg "Come on, don't make me say I missed you."

Fujiko smirked. "Ya little brat, I'll get you one for that." Grabbing an egg from a passer-by, in one smooth motion chucked it and smashed it right on Kibou's head. At the oldest girl's snap, the two younger girls enthusiastically joined in.

* * *

"Your highness, what is it with you and being filthy, I can't even see your skin under all this egg." One of the chamber maids said. "Quickly, let's get you cleaned up and away from such bad influences." The chamber maid shot a glare at the three girls.

"Wait a second, you can stop caring for me from now on, these girls will be in charge of my meals and my quarters. Right girls?" He looked up at the dumbstruck faces of his friends. "Of course such responsibility must mean their lodgings must also be upgraded as well as meals etcetera. Reasonably deal might I say." He smirked. "You may leave." He gestured to the chamber maid who quickly hurried off to inform everyone else.

"Uh, Kibou? W-why would you-?"

"Apparently there's a poison threat towards me, I just wanted to be taken care of by people I trust." He smiled at them.

Fujiko smiled confidently. "You can count on us."

* * *

It had started to get dark and the festival out in town was underway, Ryuuki and Shuurei decided they'd go anyway even without Kibou. Just as they were getting into the carriage they were called.

"Mama! Wait!" Kibou came darting down the stairs and swiftly hoped into the carriage. "I'm not going to leave you alone with him." He glared at Ryuuki and even though he was half his size, Ryuuki gulped, Kibou instantly brightened and smiled.

"You look healthy again." Ryuuki stated.

"But rushed, your hair's a total bird's nest! Come here." Shuurei beckoned to Kibou who made his way over to his mother and she started untangling the knots in his hair. They were jerked forwards once the carriage started moving and they headed towards town.

When the carriage stopped, Ryuuki was practically bouncing up and down with excitement and as soon as the door opened he rushed outside. "So cool!" He said with sparkles in his eyes.

"What are you, ten? Even Kibou doesn't act so childish like-"

"So cool!" Shuurei was cut off by the exact same words Ryuuki had said just a second ago.

Shuurei and Ryuuki just looked at each other and laughed.

Both father and son were competing for Shuurei's attention and were pulling her separate directions until she had to yell at them. "Boys, we'll take it in turns. Ryuuki, where do you want to go?" Ryuuki's eyes brightened and he grinned. He didn't answer but instead ran off in one direction. "Ah, Ryuuki!"

Seconds later he ran back and knelt down to Kibou and tied a mask so it sat on the side of his head. "Hehe, you look so adorable."

"Aww." Immediately groups of women crowded around Kibou calling him cute.

"What the hell did you do?" He yelled, his face was a dark red and he untied the mask to inspect it. The mask was cute to say the least; a light blue kitten design was carved into it, whiskers and all.

"It kind of reminded me of your personality, you're like a cat; you don't like people getting close so you draw your claws and scare them away." Ryuuki scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

Kibou was so joyful that his father knew him well that he smiled brightly without a second thought. He didn't expect Ryuuki to suddenly hug him tightly. "And you're so adorable when you open up!"

Kibou's smile dropped and Ryuuki's doting father scene was cut short when Kibou kicked him hard in the gut. "Pervert." He muttered blankly. "Come one mama, let's go over there." He grabbed his mother who was currently laughing loudly and pulled her off.

"Ki-bou." Ryuuki whimpered.

* * *

Ryuuki had finally got up and followed them, after an hour's worth of wandering the festival, they all adorned bright new masks and other nick-nacks. Kibou was clutching his cat mask to his chest the entire time, not once putting it down even when they ate.

Ryuuki chuckled and Kibou shot a glare at him. "What?"

"I didn't expect you to keep it, and you're treasuring it so much."

Kibou brushed a bright red and looked away. "It's just a waste to throw it away is all, like I would treasure anything from you." Kibou shot defensively.

"Oh really, if I do recall you still have that cherry blossom branch I gave you a few weeks ago in your room don't you." Ryuuki teased.

Shuurei had wandered off with an old friend she met up with and now it was just the two boys having a childish fight as they made their way through the crowds.

"Hey there cutie." A woman around her late thirties said to Kibou. "You're so adorable, I love the mask. Here, for being so cute." She handed him a candied apple.

"Ah, thank you." He muttered and ran off after Ryuuki who was further ahead.

* * *

"Um, father? Can we please sit down? I'm not feeling well."

"Of course." Ryuuki quickly rushed him over to a small crate which lay on the ground to use as a make shift seat. "Has your fever come back?" He placed the back of his hand to Kibou's forehead. "It's hot, and you're sweating too. I'll go find Shuurei and we'll head back. Since you can't walk I'll carry you."

He lifted up Kibou but he groaned and kept banging on Ryuuki's chest to be let down. "Too sick to be even carried, huh?" Ryuuki looked from side to side. "She shouldn't be too far off and it's less crowded here, I'll be gone for a minute Kibou, stay here." He quickly ran off after that.

"Ugh, this hurts." Kibou muttered to himself, suddenly he winced and felt something trickle down his chin. He raised his hand up to his chin and inspected what was there.

Blood.

Suddenly a hand came from behind and covered Kibou's mouth. Panicking he wiggle around but the man's other arm was securely holding his body; he managed to knock the hand off his mouth for a moment. "PAPA!" He screamed before the hand returned and he blacked out.

* * *

"Kibou?! Kibou?!" Ryuuki yelled in search of his son. He heard someone call 'papa' and he swore it sounded like Kibou, but Kibou would never call him that, could he be wrong.

He swiftly made his way over to where he left Kibou.

The only thing there though was the cat mask.

Covered in blood.

* * *

**I'm horrible.**

***hits head on desk***

**Big meanie.**

**And I'm stealing plot from the original story! I REALLY suck now. *hits head on desk***

**Remember the review button is your friend.**


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